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A logo sits on a sign outside British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc's (BSkyB) headquarters in London, U.K., on Friday, Oct. 4, 2013.

Comcast, the owner of NBC and Universal Pictures, has launched a bid for British pay TV broadcaster Sky that threatens to thwart the takeover ambitions of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

The firm is offering 22.1 billion pounds ($29.50 billion) for Sky. The possible cash offer values each Sky share at 12.50 pounds per share, which represents a 16 percent premium to the bid from Murdoch's 21st Century Fox.

"We think that Sky would be very valuable to us as we look to expand our presence internationally," he said.

Clerk Pulls Out Machete on Would-Be Robber

A would-be robber armed with a knife had a surprise in store when an Alabama store clerk pulled out a machete in defense. The two's brief knife fight was caught on camera before the clerk runs out to damage the robber's car.

According to police, suspect Seth Holcomb walked up to the counter to make a purchase. He leaves the store and then comes back in as if to make a second purchase. Then, he pulled out a knife at the counter. What he didn't expect was that the clerk would pull out a machete of his own.

(Published Wednesday, March 20, 2019)

He noted that Comcast already has a strong presence in London and would use Sky as a "platform" for growth in Europe.

Fox's bid to buy the 61 percent of Sky it does not already own has been slowed by regulatory problems in Britain.

The primary problem is a preliminary finding by the Competition and Markets Authority that a Fox takeover would give the Murdoch family too much control of Britain's media.

The competition authority last month raised concerns about Murdoch's power because his family trust already controls newspapers such as the Times and the Sun, and the deal would increase its control of the influential Sky News channel.

Fox's bid for Sky is accompanied by a broader takeover offer for Fox from Walt Disney. So a Comcast takeover of Sky could complicate Disney's proposed takeover of Fox.

Shares in Sky surged Tuesday after the announcement of Comcast's interest was made. Its share price jumped 19 percent to 13.10 pounds.

YouTube Mom Accused of Abusing Foster Kids for Clicks

Machelle Hackney of Maricopa, Arizona, is accused of forcing her adopted children to participate in her YouTube channel and abusing them if they did not recall their lines or perform as directed. Hackney's channel had accrued hundreds of millions of views since she joined in 2012.